Many different items are covered by tarpaulins or the like to protect such items from damage. An automobile is one common example of such covered items. Boats, agricultural equipment, air vehicles, or the like are further examples of such items.
Once covered, it is often necessary to gain access to such covered items for service or maintenance. If the seal is broken on many covers for such items, the cover is compromised and must be replaced.
Therefore, there is a need for a means for covering items in a manner that will permit access to the covered item without damaging the cover in a manner that will compromise the cover of a re-covered item.
Buildings often have openings that should be closed when not in use. A cargo or other access opening is an example of such openings. In some cases, doorways should be sealed when not in use.
Therefore, there is a need for a means for covering a building opening in a manner that will permit access through the opening when desired and re-sealing of the opening when desired.
Furthermore, some items, such as coffee, are shipped in bulk. In some cases, the shipping containers must be opened for inspection, such as by customs officials or the like.
It is often convenient to temporarily open the coverings of such items and to then re-close the container or cover. In the case of coffee, it is often convenient to slit open the bag to inspect the contents, and then re-close the bag after inspection.
However, in some cases, once the covering or container is opened, it cannot be easily re-closed in a manner that will seal the contents. In such instances, the entire bag may be lost. This can be costly and wasteful.
Therefore, there is a need for a means for permitting a container to be opened and then re-closed in an easy yet secure manner.
In U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,311,648, 5,067,207 and Des 331,892, the present inventor has disclosed a zipper attachment that will achieve the above-stated goals. This zipper attachment includes a one-piece cloth base which has a zipper mechanism mounted on one side thereof and adhesive located on another side thereof. A release liner covers the adhesive until the attachment is needed. The attachment is used by removing the release layer, adhering the base to an element, such as a bag or a tarpaulin, opening the zipper mechanism, and cutting a hole through the base and through the element. The cut will define an access opening through the element. After use is made of the access opening, the zipper mechanism is closed to re-seal the element.
It is noted that the disclosure of the aforementioned patents, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,311,648, 5,067,207 and Des 331,892 is incorporated herein by reference.
While the attachment disclosed in the aforementioned patents works well, the inventor has noted a problem. The zipper mechanism is mounted on the base by stitching the zipper mechanism to the base. In the devices disclosed in the incorporated patents, the zipper mechanism is stitched to a base after the adhesive and the release liner are already located on the base. The zipper mechanism is stitched to this base on the side of the base opposite to the adhesive covered side.
While this is an efficient means for mounting the zipper mechanism on the base, it has created a problem with removing the release liner just prior to mounting the attachment to an element. The stitching makes it difficult to remove the release liner and the inventor has found that the release liner must be removed in sections and even then, some of the liner may remain in place due to the stitching. The release liner used can come apart in layers leaving parts of the release liner adhered to the stitching. Also, pulling of the release liner to tear it from the stitching which holds the zipper mechanism in place may stretch the stitching thereby weakening the purpose of the stitching. In some cases, pulling the release liner from the stitching may even damage or break the stitching.
Therefore, there is a need to improve the zipper mechanism disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,311,648, 5,067,207 and Des 331,892.
Furthermore, there is a need to improve the method of making a zipper attachment such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,311,648, 5,067,207 and Des 331,892.